Pre-paid public transport tickets (travelcards) are believed to generate increased use of public transport. The objectives of this research were to investigate the degree and manner in which purchasing a travelcard affects trip making behaviour, and the reactions of passengers to changes in the travelcard schemes. Current public transport users answered a set of questionnaires. The first of these obtained background detail and looked for the reasons why public transport users purchase or do not purchase a travelcard. This was supplemented with details of their weekly travel patterns to give further insight into the decision making process. Revealed preference models were constructed, which quantified the effect of the most important reasons. Travelcard holders were asked what trips they would cancel or change if a travelcard was not available, while cash payers were asked for details about the trips they would change if they had a travelcard. A sub-sample of the travelcard holders were then asked to rank hypothetical travelcards in two stated preference experiments. Models were formed, using the stated preference results, that predicted how passengers would react to changes in the current travelcard scheme. (A)
Abstract